LOCATION: National
ISSUE/SOURCE: Duty and rest period rules came into force for operating employees of freight railways on May 25, 2023.
DATE: September 2024
SUGGESTED RESPONSES
- Transport Canada is committed to protecting all Canadians who live and work along rail lines by putting in place the necessary measures to reduce the risk of serious accidents.
- The new Duty and Rest Period Rules came fully into force for freight railways on May 25, 2023, and will come fully into effect for passenger railways in November 2024.
- The new rules require freight railway companies to restrict duty periods for operating employees, namely locomotive engineers and conductors.
- The rules reflect the latest in fatigue science and are intended to guard against cumulative fatigue and reduce probability of human errors leading to rail accidents.
- The new rules contain several significant improvements over the old rules including:
- Reduction in the maximum length of a duty period from 16 hours to 12 hours;
- New limits on total work hours: 60 hours per 7-day period; 192 hours per 28-day period; and
- Longer rest periods between shifts.
- Transport Canada rail safety inspectors monitor compliance with the rules, and if non-compliance or a safety concern is found, the Department will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action.
IF PRESSED
On the implementation of the duty and rest period rules:
- I am aware that some railway employees may be adversely affected by the industry’s implementation of these new rules. We continue to follow-up on employee concerns to ensure the new rules are being properly implemented.
On a Federal Court Judicial Review Application filed by one company:
- I am aware of an application for judicial review filed by one railway company regarding the refusal to grant an exemption from the Duty and Rest Period Rules for Railway Operating Employees. While I cannot comment on active litigation, I can tell you that I am committed to safe railway operations and addressing safety risks caused by fatigue. We continue to work with railway companies and unions to improve fatigue management and take action on this important safety issue.
On rest provisions highlighted during the recent labour negotiations:
- Transport Canada is not involved in the labour negotiations between the union and the two railway companies.
- Transport Canada’s role is to monitor all federally regulated railway companies in Canada for compliance with safety rules, regulations, and standards through audits and safety inspections pursuant to the Railway Safety Act and Part II of the Canada Labour Code.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
- In 2018, the Railway Safety Act Review Panel recommended that Transport Canada (TC) take a leadership role with respect to fatigue in the railway industry and regulate “prescriptive minimum criteria and non-prescriptive measures based on fatigue science”.
- From the early 1990s until mid-2022, the Transportation Safety Board has made findings or issued safety messages about sleep related fatigue in 32 rail occurrences. The issue of fatigue management in rail operations has been on the Transportation Safety Board Watchlist since 2016.
- In December 2018, the former Minister of Transport issued a Ministerial Order that instructed railway company to revise the Work/Rest Rules for Railway Operating Employees to reflect the latest fatigue science and fatigue management practices.
- After extensive consultations with labour unions the industry submitted the Duty and Rest Period Rules for Railway Operating Employees (DRPR) on September 11, 2020, which were approved by TC on November 25, 2020, with a phased-in coming into force period.
- In the fall/winter of 2022 and 2023, prior to the coming into force of the new Duty and Rest Period Rules for Railway Operating Employees, TC had considerable interaction with railways and labour unions regarding questions of interpretation.
- TC has issued guidance to assist in interpretation of the Duty and Rest Period Rules and continues to monitor compliance through oversight activities.
- Since the rules came into force on May 25, 2023, TC has received inquiries from railway operating employees around the calculation of how long they can work and when they must take rest. TC continues to follow up on these issues as part of its ongoing compliance oversight.